PERSONAL ADVICE
crowningconcepts By Lisa Quast
Excelling from the
Inside Competition isn’t only about
strutting your stuff on stage for
judges, when the techniques you
learn are the same ones you can
use to succeed in your career
eality TV and the media have sometimes given pag-
eants a bad reputation, but while my husband and I
watched my pupil in the Miss USA Pageant, I found
myself thinking about how relevant pageants still are
for today’s woman. Think pageants are only about
strutting your stuff on stage in front of judges? Think again. The
techniques you learn to compete in any competition are the same
ones you can use to excel in your career. Here are ﬁve essential per-
formance tips that can be directly applied to shining, succeeding
and dominating in the workplace:
R TIP #1: To ace the interview, be extremely knowl-
edgeable Pageant queens don’t ace the interview competition just because
of their looks; they do well in interviews because of their brains
and personality. “When you compete in a pageant, from local to in-
ternational levels, you quickly realize that answering a variety of
questions ﬂawlessly is a huge element in the competition,” said
Christina Clarke, Miss Washington USA 2012. “You never know
what questions you’ll be asked, so you have to prepare for anything.
Essentially, your answer needs to be as beautiful as you are on
stage. And while beauty might get you noticed, it’s brains that are
the most important aspect when it comes to competing in a pag-
eant as well as competing for a job in business.”
Your goal is to learn everything you can about the company, in-
dustry, key competitors and needs of the customers. Then, put your
knowledge to work during interviews for your dream job by daz-
zling them with your wisdom and ideas.
TIP #2: Walk the walk, stand tall and show your
most conﬁdent self
Ever wonder why pageant contestants look so conﬁdent? Be-
cause they practice exuding it even when they may be quaking
from nerves on the inside. Libby Crawford, Ms. Oregon America
2012, explained, “Pageants are a mental game and it can be nerve-
wracking to go onstage in front of judges and a large television au-
dience. So, I remind myself that I am not competing against
anyone else but me and I picture myself as the winner. This turns
my mindset from nerves into conﬁdence. I’ve found if you act con-
ﬁdently you’ll become a conﬁdent person be it on stage or in the
workplace.” Well said. Conﬁdence is the key for women job seekers and job
holders in obtaining promotions, so just remember to exude conﬁ-
dence, not arrogance.
MISS WASHINGTON USA 2012
CHRISTINA CLARK
56 PAGEANTRY
CONFIDENCE LOOKS GOOD: Take the conﬁdence you have to strut your stuff in a
swimsuit on stage and translate it to your career! That same conﬁdence will make you
shine during interviews and in the workplace.